Five Florida Panthers, Including Sergei Bobrovsky, Who Could Be Moving

The NHL Trade Deadline is March 6, and Bill Zito will be busy on the phone

Nov 10, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) celebrates with center Evan Rodrigues (17) after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Few will diminish how impressive a turnaround the Florida Panthers organization had over the past few years. 

Not too long ago Florida was a bottom-dwelling team, with half empty arenas and a lackluster on-ice product. The past three years have shown the vast change in the franchise’s league-wide standing. 

Three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances, with the last two resulting in back-to-back championships. 

Florida had an impressive run, and it wouldn’t shock me if they return to the pinnacle of hockey next June. But this season is a wash.

Losing captain Aleksander Barkov on the first day of on-ice training camp sessions to a torn ACL and MCL was the catalyst of a year filled with injuries, one that will likely see Florida’s playoff streak end at six consecutive seasons.

Nobody has played more hockey than the Panthers over the past three seasons. An offseason of rest, recovery, and slight retooling will do them wonders, especially since they will keep their 2026 first-round pick if it falls within the top 10 — which is plausible. 

So with the trade deadline just one day away, Florida should go into it as conservative sellers. They’ll field calls on their pending UFAs, and possibly a few non-expiring contracts.

Here’s a few players the Panthers should at least pick up the phone if called about. 

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Forward, AJ Greer  

If a Panther was on the move by Friday, AJ Greer would make the most sense. 

The 29-year-old is everything you want in a bottom-six depth forward during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The six-foot-three forward can play up and down the lineup, but would be most useful as a fourth-line grinder who plays 7-10 minutes a night, purely to wear down the opposition.

Greer brought a breath of fresh air to the Panthers fourth-line after he signed with the defending Stanley Cup champions last season.

Based on the current market and his player archetype, it wouldn't surprise me if he fetched a second-round pick, or a tad more. 

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky 

If you said eight months ago, after winning a second consecutive Stanley Cup, the Panthers would be selling at the deadline, I would’ve laughed. But here we are. 

I would’ve also laughed if you said the Panthers were listening to offers on Sergei Bobrovsky… here we are. 

Based off multiple reports, there’s a discrepancy between the Panthers and Bobrovsky’s camp around term and salary for the former two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Vezina winning goalie. 

So with Florida all but out of the playoff race and a deal with pending UFA Bobrovsky not imminent, the Panthers should at least hear out teams that want to bring the future Hall of Famer in.

A Bobrovsky trade isn’t as simple as shipping him to the highest bidder, nor would the Panthers blindly move Bobrovsky to a destination he isn’t fond of. That’s not how they operate. 

He also has a 16-team no trade list. That automatically cuts off half the league.

Another roadblock that would prevent a trade is the return. Florida won’t ship the 37-year-old off for just a fifth rounder, the offer really needs to force their hand to not say no. 

The goaltending market isn’t as easy to predict as say a big depth forward, or a middle-six center — which is fetching a first-round pick this year. 

Can Bobrovsky put a team that thinks they need a goaltender to win them a game or a series into the over the edge? He certainly did that for the Panthers over the past three seasons when it mattered most. 

Defenseman, Jeff Petry

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nate Schmidt were two veteran, rental defenseman that came to Florida, won a Cup, and cashed out the following offseason as UFAs. 

Florida was hopeful that Jeff Petry would join that list, but this season just hasn’t gone the way for anyone within the organization. 

The days of now 38-year-old Petry playing a significant role as a top four defender is gone, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be desired at the deadline. 

Petry has over 1,000 regular season NHL games under his belt, and another 48 playoff games — all of those coming with the Montreal Canadiens a few years ago. He also played a key role on the Habs blueline during the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, where they eventually lost in five to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

The return won’t be anything significant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Zito does the longtime stalwart defender a solid and sends him to a contending team. 

Forward, Jesper Boqvist 

Unlike the three mentioned above, Jesper Boqvist still has a year left on his contract after this season. 

The 27-year-old impressed enough last season to get a two-year, $3M extension mid-season with the Panthers in 2024-25, but he seems to have fallen out of favor in Sunrise. 

Florida won’t be desperate to move on from Boqvist, he earned the extension last year, but if an offer comes in, they’ll listen. That’s $1.5M of cap they can clear headed into next offseason.

Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Forward, Evan Rodrigues

This one is a little interesting, and there’s no word that Florida would trade Evan Rodrigues. 

If it was up to me, Rodrigues would be on the Panthers roster next season, and he’d be on the list of guys who should be offered an extension. He still has one more year left on his contract next season, with a team-friendly $3M AAV.

So why is he on this list?

The pre-trade deadline day moves have made it clear, this is a seller’s market. 

First-round picks have been flying for players in Rodrigues’ comparable player range. Edmonton sent a first for Jason Dickinson, Colorado traded a first for Nicholas Roy. 

TRADE: We’ve traded forward Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche

ℹ️ https://t.co/UnPCdVQCQ0 pic.twitter.com/LGdxxXuMgr

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 5, 2026

Rodrigues has put up more goals and points than both Dickinson and Roy, while playing center all season. 

Roy was a very good player for the Vegas Golden Knights team in 2023 that defeated the Panthers for the Stanley Cup. Likewise, Rodrigues was huge for the Panthers in both Cup runs, especially in 2024, as he led the Panthers in scoring during the Stanley Cup Final with 4 goals and 7 points in seven games. 

The Panthers won’t be picking up the phone to deal Evan Rodrigues, but the market has been nice to sellers, and Rodrigues could fetch a hefty haul. They’ll at least listen if the phone rings.